City Council Confirms New Landmarks Commissioners

The City Council confirmed Adi Shamir Baron and John Gustafsson as new commissioners for the city Landmarks Preservation Commission today without no opposition in votes on Mayor Bill de Blasio‘s nominees for positions on the 11-member panel.

The two new commissioners will now join the agency that grants landmark status and regulates any potential changes to the city’s historic sites, working under fellow de Blasio appointee Meenakshi Srinivasan, the LPC’s chairwoman.

“I am pleased that the City Council has confirmed their appointments and appreciates their strong qualifications and their exceptional commitment to preserving the architectural, historic, and cultural heritage of New York City,” Ms Srinivasan said in a prepared statement. “Both John Gustafsson and Adi Shamir Baron will be great assets to the Commission, and I look forward to working together in the years ahead.”

Mr. Shamir Baron works as an architect and design consultant to public and private entities, and he previously served as the executive director of the Van Alen Institute, a nonprofit that promotes research, public programs and architectural design competitions. Mr. Gustafsson, a retired partner from the business trial group of California-based Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, serves as chairman of the board of the Historic House Trust of New York City, and he previously served as president and chairman of the board of the Staten Island Historical Society.